Since its launch in 2006, Hoops Haven has become a staple of the New Jersey basketball community. This is the place to find breaking news, analysis and links about college and high school basketball in the Garden State.

No, it’s not a Supreme Court case. Just the likeliest candidates for the Rutgers coaching job squaring off in the metaphorical courtroom of judge and one-man jury Tim Pernetti. Let’s weigh the pros and cons of each side. As always we invite readers into the debate.

FRAN FRASCHILLA

Pros

Has won at this level; had St. John’s on the verge of being a national powerhouse, building a team that Mike Jarvis took to the Elite Eight.

Provides the kind of name recognition and front-man star power Pernetti is known to favor as he looks to awaken the fan base and renovate the RAC.

Regarded as a tireless worker and superb recruiter of top metropolitan-area talent.

St. John’s just went a similar road in pulling ex-coach Steve Lavin from the broadcast booth and the early returns are looking good. Lavin has assembled a superb staff and has garnered a ton of positive publicity.

Cons

You just ousted a coach for conduct issues and Fraschilla has been ousted from two jobs largely because of conduct issues.

His recruiting pipelines could be rusty after so much time away from coaching.

How badly does he really want the job?

Will he come at a reasonable price?

MIKE RICE

Pros

Has the strong backing of New Jersey’s grass-roots power brokers.

Is a promising coach “on the way up,” to paraphrase Bob Hurley.

In addition to his sterling record at Robert Morris, he’s regarded as a tireless worker with strong recruiting connections in the metro area.

Salary would not be an obstacle. Rice wants the job.

Cons

Just about nobody makes the leap from the low-major Northeast Conference to the Big East (see: Kevin Bannon).

New Jersey’s grass-roots power brokers also fervently backed Fred Hill.

Is not a big name. Outside of local basketball junkies, his hiring would not make much of a splash.

Seton Hall passed on him because of concerns about his temperament and his team’s nine technical fouls this past season.

Seton Hall University men’s basketball player Herb Pope’s condition remained serious at St. Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston Thursday night after the sophomore collapsed following a workout at the school’s Recreation Center Wednesday afternoon.

The 6-foot-8 forward, who averaged 11.5 points and a Big East-leading 10.7 rebounds per game this past season after transferring from New Mexico State, is undergoing a battery of tests to determine the cause of the collapse.

“Seton Hall sophomore men’s basketball player Herb Pope collapsed yesterday afternoon and was taken to the hospital,” the statement read. “We will release more information as it becomes available.”

Shortly after the season, which for Pope ended with an ejection from the Pirates’ first-round NIT loss for punching Texas Tech forward Darko Cohadarevic in the groin, the 23-year-old Alaquippa, Pa. native declared for the NBA Draft but did not hire an agent. He has until May 8 to withdraw his name and retain his collegiate eligibility.

Apparently he collapsed while working out at the Rec Center Wednesday afternoon. What we can say for now is that Herb’s situation involves his heart and has been described to us as “serious.”

Seton Hall has released a statement:

“Seton Hall sophomore men’s basketball player Herb Pope collapsed yesterday afternoon and was taken to the hospital,” said Seton Hall Assistant Athletics Director Matt Sweeney. “We will release more information as it becomes available.”

HOOPS HAVEN SAYS: Good addition for Siena. Craig was well-regarded by the players at Rutgers and has solid recruiting connections. He got RU in the game for Devin Ebanks but Fred Hill couldn’t close the deal.

A favorite son will not be coming home to resuscitate the Rutgers men’s basketball program, but a new name has entered the mix of potential replacements for Fred Hill.

Eddie Jordan, the Scarlet Knights legend who ran the point on the 1976 Final Four team, withdrew his name from consideration on Tuesday. A source close to the program said Jordan, who was fired by the Philadelphia 76ers earlier this month, wants to continue coaching in the NBA.

Meanwhile former Boston College coach Al Skinner has moved onto the radar of Rutgers athletics director Tim Pernetti. According to a source with knowledge of the process, Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski called Pernetti late last week to recommend Skinner, who was fired by Boston College on March 30 after 13 mostly successful seasons there.

Skinner, 57, went 247-165 with seven NCAA Tournament berths and three Big East Conference titles at Boston College, where he was the winningest coach in program history.

He is one of three candidates getting interviewed this week, joining former St. John’s coach and television analyst Fran Fraschilla and Robert Morris coach Mike Rice. Fraschilla and Rice are considered to be the frontrunners at this point. Temple coach Fran Dunphy remains a candidate but his interest level is not known.

Another candidate, Dayton coach Brian Gregory, told the Dayton Daily News on Monday that he was not interested in the job.

Jordan was scheduled to be interviewed by Pernetti on Thursday.

His return to the banks would have made for a nostalgic story line. Jordan was the 1976 East Regional MVP and remains the program’s career leader in assists and steals. He went on to average 8.1 points per game in seven NBA seasons and then served two tours of duty on the Scarlet Knights’ coaching staff, first as a volunteer and later as a full assistant, before making the leap to the professional ranks in 1994.

In three head-coaching stints, Jordan posted a record of 257-353 for a .412 winning percentage.

Pernetti and Jordan are meeting at an off-campus location believed to be in the Philadelphia area, where Jordan resides. A source with knowledge of the decision-making process told Gannett New Jersey today that Jordan appears to be the favorite to replace Fred Hill, who resigned last week. …continue reading →

ESPN is handing out grades for the early entrants into the NBA Draft, and they’re not so good for Derrick Caracter and Lance Stephenson: Good, bad and ugly

This is a week old, but it’s a good analysis of the conference expansion scene by The New York Times’ Pete Thamel: All eyes on the Big Ten

Off the topic, but of interest to our Seton Hall readers: We caught up with Pirate track senior Toneisha Friday at the Penn Relays and got her reflections (and added some of our own) on the impending death of that storied program: The track gods speak at Franklin Field

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About the Author

Jerry Carino has covered sports for the Gannett New Jersey newspapers since 1996 and has been on the college basketball beat since 2003. A native of Old Bridge, he also teaches journalism at Kean University.Email Jerry.